Justin Wilson looks to make most of Indy rides with Andretti Autosport

By May 5, 2015, 7:49 PM EDT
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Without a full-time ride for this season, Justin Wilson is happy to be back in a race car and to have a ride for at least the next two races.

The Great Britain native will compete in Saturday’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis 500, both for one of the premier teams in the sport, Andretti Autosport.

“It’s great to be back and great to be part of Andretti Autosport and looking forward to the month,” the 35-year-old Wilson said during a recent IndyCar press conference. “It’s been a long off-season, a lot of time thinking about getting back in the car and what it takes and how it’s all going to work.

“I’m just pleased to get it started, and so far it seems good. We just got to take it one step at a time. There’s a lot of work to be done, new body kits, everyone is trying to work them out and get a feel for them and go from there.”

Wilson spent the last three seasons with Dale Coyne Racing, finishing 5th in 2012 (including a win at Texas), 13th in 2013 and 11th in 2014 (no wins in either season but four podium finishes in 2013, and wound up fourth in the first of two races at Belle Isle last season).

Without a full-time ride for 2015, he’s hitting reset somewhat with the two races for Andretti Autosport.

“At first it’s a little strange because you’re with a new team and there’s a lot of changes obviously with the aero kits and all that that’s going on,” he said. “When you switch teams, it’s never easy that first couple of days and that first time in the car, especially when you’re trying to squeeze in the car and get the seat just right and the belts just right and the pedals and everything else.

“It’s just nice to get all that done, and then we can start planning ahead and trying to go quick now. So that was the main focus and, you know, just get settled in.”

Wilson will get his first test with his new team in Saturday’s Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis, a warm-up for the Indy 500 just over two weeks later. He has seven career starts in the 500, with a career best of 5th in 2013 and 7th in 2012 and 2010. He finished 12th in last year’s race.

“We’ll be focused on how to get the most out of the situation for that GP,” Wilson said. “It’s great. I get to do the GP first and get used to the team and the environment and work everything else out before we get into the rest of the month of May.

“So it’s good to be part of this team, this organization, being with all the drivers. Everyone is working well together … but I think it’s going to be a good month and hopefully whatever works out between the aero kits and Chevrolet and Honda, whatever happens, hopefully we can have a good month.”

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Ford unveils a new Mustang for 2024 Le Mans in motorsports ‘lifestyle brand’ retooling

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Ford Mustang Le Mans
Ford Performance
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LE MANS, France — Ford has planned a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its iconic Mustang muscle car next year under a massive rebranding of Ford Performance aimed at bringing the automotive manufacturer “into the racing business.”

The Friday unveil of the new Mustang Dark Horse-based race car follows Ford’s announcement in February (and a ballyhooed test at Sebring in March) that it will return to Formula One in 2026 in partnership with reigning world champion Red Bull.

The Mustang will enter the GT3 category next year with at least two cars in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship, and is hopeful to earn an invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. The IMSA entries will be a factory Ford Performance program run by Multimatic, and a customer program in WEC with Proton Competition.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, also an amateur sports car racer, told The Associated Press the Mustang will be available to compete in various GT3 series across the globe to customer teams. But more important, Farley said, is the overall rebranding of Ford Performance – done by renowned motorsports designer Troy Lee – that is aimed at making Ford a lifestyle brand with a sporting mindset.

“It’s kind of like the company finding its own, and rediscovering its icons, and doubling down on them,” Farley told the AP. “And then this motorsports activity is getting serious about connecting enthusiast customers with those rediscovered icons. It’s a big switch for the company – this is really about building strong, iconic vehicles with enthusiasts at the center of our marketing.”

Ford last competed in sports car racing in 2019 as part of a three-year program with Chip Ganassi Racing. The team scored the class win at Le Mans in 2016 in a targeted performance aimed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ford snapping Ferrari’s six-year winning streak.

Ford on Friday displayed a Mustang with a Lee-designed livery that showcased the cleaner, simplified look that will soon be featured on all its racing vehicles. The traditional blue oval with Ford Performance in white lettering underneath will now be branded simply FP.

The new mark will be used across car liveries, merchandise and apparel, display assets, parts and accessories and in advertising.

Farley cited Porsche as an automaker that has successfully figured out how to sell cars to consumers and race cars in various series around the world while creating a culture of brand enthusiasts. He believes Ford’s new direction will help the company sell street cars, race cars, boost interest in driving schools, and create a merchandise line that convinces consumers that a stalwart of American automakers is a hip, cool brand.

“We’re going to build a global motorsports business off road and on road,” Farley told the AP, adding that the design of the Mustang is “unapologetically American.”

He lauded the work of Lee, who is considered the top helmet designer among race car drivers.

“We’re in the first inning of a nine inning game, and going to Le Mans is really important,” Farley said. “But for customer cars, getting the graphics right, designing race cars that win at all different levels, and then designing a racing brand for Ford Performance that gets rebranded and elevated is super important.”

He said he’s kept a close eye on how Porsche and Aston Martin have built their motorsports businesses and said Ford will be better.

“We’re going in the exact same direction. We just want to be better than them, that’s all,” Farley said. “Second is the first loser.”

Farley, an avid amateur racer himself, did not travel to Le Mans for the announcement. The race that begins Saturday features an entry from NASCAR, and Ford is the reigning Cup Series champion with Joey Logano and Team Penske.

The NASCAR “Garage 56” entry is a collaboration between Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and is being widely celebrated throughout the industry. Farley did feel left out of the party in France – a sentiment NASCAR tried to avoid by inviting many of its partners to attend the race so that it wouldn’t seem like a Chevrolet-only celebration.

“They’re going right and I’m going left – that NASCAR thing is a one-year deal, right? It’s Garage 56 and they can have their NASCAR party, but that’s a one-year party,” Farley said. “We won Le Mans outright four times, we won in the GT class, and we’re coming back with Mustang and it’s not a one-year deal.

“So they can get all excited about Garage 56. I almost see that as a marketing exercise for NASCAR, but for me, that’s a science project,” Farley continued. “I don’t live in a world of science projects. I live in the world of building a vital company that everyone is excited about. To do that, we’re not going to do a Garage 56 – I’ve got to beat Porsche and Aston Martin and Ferrari year after year after year.”

Ford’s announcement comes on the heels of General Motors changing its GT3 strategy next season and ending its factory Corvette program. GM, which unlike Ford competes in the IMSA Grand Touring Prototype division (with its Cadillac brand), will shift fully to a customer model for Corvettes in 2024 (with some factory support in the IMSA GTD Pro category).